Carson
by Raidersrule76
Summary: A child, barely 13 years old, becomes caught up in the battle for Jump City. Though he proves himself capable of holding his own, his arrival upsets a delicate balance...and sets into motion a chain of events that will shape the fate of the world.
1. Deal with the Devil

RR76: Hello all of you. I am, as you may or may not know, writing another thing to fill the void that Past Tense left when nobody ever read it again. So this is my big project for the future. May it fair better... Anyway, if anyone read Pre Teen Titans, you probably already know that I've been advertising a charecter named Carson. This is the story that I'm featuring him in. I have big plans for this- if it does well, I'll write the sequel (yes, I said the sequel, I told you, big plans). This takes place between "Terra" and "Titan Rising", evidenced by the first scene. So read now, I've delayed long enough.

Massive, head-splitting pain was the first thing the warrior noticed when he awoke. His next thought was asperin. Then 'Where am I?' Maybe his priorities were a bit off, but that was to be expected, after having a boulder crash into his skull. Most people wouldn't survive that, but then again, he wasn't most people.

His vision returning, he quickly appraised the situaion. He was in a chamber, perhaps underground, surrounded by moniters. Orange light shone through the windows ('They are windows... aren't they?' he thought), framing the figure standing in front of him that he just noticed. Wait- figure?

He got to his feet and instinctivly reached to where his favorite weapon was kept holstered. Nothing. "I believe you are looking for these?" the figure said calmly, holding in front of him a bandolier, a metallic object hanging loosely from it's holster. The warrior froze, now realizing the severity of his situation. He moved into a combat stance, intent on going out fighting. The figure spoke again, his voice containing a hint of amusement. "You don't want to try anything. I happen to have several years of experience on you. I could take you down in an instant."

"Then why don't you?" another voice said, heavy with irritation. The warrior turned to see a teenage girl standing, arms folded, staring at him with a look that, even with all his training, made his blood freeze. He recognized her instantly as his attacker.

"Patience, Terra," the figure said, his voice calm as ever. He turned to face his prisoner for the first time, though stayed in the shadows. "I assume you know my apprentice?"

The warrior kept his gaze on Terra, but replied "We'd met." His captor gave a short laugh, and stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, and wore light metal armor around his shouldars, legs and arms. He wore an eerie mask, one side was black, the other was copper, with a single eyehole and slits at the bottom for breathing. The warrior recognized him from a newspaper article he'd read when he first arrived in the city. "You're Slade, aren't you?" he asked.

Slade was unfazed, though he did seem surprised when he said, "Heard of me, have you?" From the corner of his eye, the warrior could see Terra roll her eyes slightly, a sign that she was yet unimpressed by the prisoner. "Then I suppose you also know about the Teen Titans?" Terra shifted slightly at their mention, though the warrior could not tell if it was from contempt or familiarity- or perhaps both?

"Maybe. What of it?" he asked casually, not wanting to appear weak to his captor. Slade was, after all, the major crime figure in the city.

"Because, my young friend," Slade said, "they are the focus of our meeting. I've heard of you, through some... connections... I have in Gotham city. Rumor has it you're quite the mercenary there. Though you may be nothing more than a local figure to my young apprentice," he said, flustering Terra slightly, "to me, you are a deadly weapon, one that I would very much appriciate having in my arsenal."

"Should I be flattered?" the warrior said, "'cause I'm not, if you're wondering."

"While I have much enjoyed our verbal sparring," Slade said, irritated, "I would very much like to focus on the topic at hand." He walked to one of his moniters and pushed a button, calling up images of five teenagers, each one immersed in combat with a villian. The warrior recognized them as the Teen Titans. They had quite a reptutation- one of the images was a clipping from a newspaper describing their battle against the HIVE academy, and another showing the one called Cyborg facing off against a robot nearly twice his size.

"These five have been a thorn in my side for long enough," Slade said menacingly. "Your job is to kill them in any way you see fit. While I would much appreciate some information on them- how they think, their interests, their weaknesses- if you opt to just kill them on the spot, that would do.

"And what, pray tell, is the payment for this task?" he asked skepticaly.

Slade tossed a bag at his hired hand's feet, containing a few dollar bills, most of them singles. The mercenary looked his payment over for a few moments before being appearing satisfied. He nodded his approval. "One more thing," Slade said to him. He picked the bandolier up off his keyboard and tossed it to the warrior, who put it around his waist immediatly. He didn't bother to say anything about the ridiculousness about a crime lord telling an assasin to give him information on the assasin's next victim. It was all the same to him.

As he turned to leave, Slade went to stand next to his apprentice. "Now then, Terra," he began, "the lesson begins."

RR76: Whew. That was long. So what did ya think? Review!


	2. Rancid meat

RR76: After it's 1 month hiatus, due to lack of anyone _reading _it, Carson has now been updated. I've been toying with a couple other ideas recently, but until I get more time to actually write them, they're nothing more than ideas. So sorry. Responses:

**jogerm904: Not in this story, sorry. I won't reveal too much, but something will happen to Terra in the sequel. Hehehehehe... for now, she's just a sidenote. She plays a bigger role in the aforementioned sequel. Don't worry.**

Once again, that's it. Thanks to fourthelement and jogerm904 for the reviews. Now I can stop drinking! Nah, I'm kidding. I don't drink... yet. Ha! Gotcha again!

TRESPASSER: Get on with it dammit!

RR76: Oh, yeah: I do not own anything in this story, except Carson, because I created him! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Now please read. Or die...

The door to the training room slid open quietly, allowing a figure to step inside. The figure leaned on a window sill and sighed, watching as the rain softly tapped against the window pane, his green skin faintily illuminated by the lights downtown. For once in his life, his thoughts cleared, and he concentrated on a single person, a blonde haired teenage girl he had met not 2 weeks ago. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought of how they had parted. She hated him, he knew that much, and he would never see her again.

His thoughts began to change, though, and they instead concentrated on another person, and amesthyst eyed, blue cloaked girl. She had been much kinder to him these past weeks-he recieved much less pain, though the sarcasm never ceased to flow. It never did for her, did it? Beast Boy sighed again. His pain of being torn from the girl he loved (forgive me...) was compounded with the knowladge that the two women he admired most in this world hated him. Or at least it seemed that way.

A sudden voice broke his train of thought: "You're thinking about her again, aren't you?" Beast Boy recognized the calm, cool voice instantly, and turned to see the very subject of his thoughts standing behind him, her cloak drawn about her slim (not anorexic, she's not like Terra) form. Her face was expressionless, though Beast Boy could see faint signs of sympathy on her beutiful features.

"Raven... you scared me," Beast Boy said shakily. He scratched the back of his head. "Um... what are you doing here?"

"Meditating, before you barged in. Not that I'm bitter," Raven said. Beast Boy inwardly smiled. The sarcasm never ceased, did it? Raven stepped up next to him and leaned against the sill. "You didn't answer. You're thinking about her."

Beast Boy turned back to the window and sighed again. "I can't help it. Terra..." He could hardly get the next words out. "She didn't even say goodbye. She just... left." He sniffed and his voice broke, but he continued. "She hates me, doesn't she?"

Raven was silent for a moment, but answered him. "She has some problems she needs to deal with. She's been through alot in her life, and maybe she needs to deal with it on her own." Raven's hand rested on Beast Boy's shouldar. "She'll come back one day."

"How do you know?" Beast Boy asked sullenly, still facing the window.

Raven answered simply "I just do." The two teammates stared silenty at the rain, Raven's hand still on Beast Boy's shouldar. The changeling suddenly broke the silence. "Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we... friends?"

"Beast Boy..." Raven trailed off for a moment, and for that moment, Beast Boy's fear was confirmed. "You keep asking stupid questions, don't you?"

"It's just..." Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably. "Sometimes I can't tell, you know? Like when I tell a joke, or when I compliment you, you just ignore me, or you use your powers to throw me into a wall, or you say something sarcastic and then ignore me."

Raven was silent, deep in thought. Beast Boy's words seemed to have rang true. Finally she spoke up. "You've always been there, trying to make people laugh, trying to make someone's day worth it. Usually mine. You never stop trying, no matter what I say or do. You've saved my life more times than I can count." She paused, searching for the right words. "I'm glad to have you as a friend."

_That's it? Just friends? _Beast Boy thought about saying, but instead he smiled. "Heh... thanks Rae."

"You're welcome. And don't call me that." Raven said. She suddenly noticed that she hadn't taken her hand off Beast Boys shouldar, and quickly removed it. She was thankful for the lack of light that conceled her blush. An awkward silence settled over the two teammates as they stared out the window.

The silence didn't last.The alarm blared as a red light flashed. The two looked at each other and ran to the living room. _That's the first moment Cyborg hasn't broken up,_ Beast Boy thought with a smile.

The Titans gathered in the living room to find Robin standing there, fully dressed. "Titans," he said. "It's him. He's back."

"You promise not to lose it again?" Beast Boy said jokingly, evoking a glare from his leader. "Slade's attacking a warehouse downtown. Report says over 100 armed robots trying to get to a cache of ammunition."

"Bullets? You woke us up at 4:30 in the morning because Slade wants to steal a couple crates of BULLETS?!" Cyborg yelled at Robin.

"More like centrifuges," Robin said quietly. A hush settled over the room as the Titans tried to process this information.

"Slade... he wants a nuke?" the Cyborg said after a while, clearly shocked.

"Please, these 'nukes' are dangerous then?" Starfire asked, curious.

"Atomic weapons," Robin explained. "Powerful enough to destroy an entire city. Those who survive die a slow death from radiation poisoning."

"In other words," Raven said in her usual monotone, "we lose."

"Then why are we still here?!" Beast Boy shouted. "Slade wants nukes, he's got to go through the Teen Titans first!"

"Did you have to sound so corny when you said that?" Raven said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Here's the plan:" Robin said. "I'll take the R-Cycle. Cyborg, take the others in the T-Car. We'll try to flank him. Titans, go!"

Bodies were scattered about the warehouse as the battle raged on, the robots slowly gaining the upper hand. The guards, though heavily armed, were no mach for the supirior force they were up against. Ammunition was running low, morale with it, as the robots pressed onward, egged on by their leader, who was pearched on a catwalk. He was in his mid twenties, with black pants and a black jacket and long black hair.

"Keep it goin' boys!" the man shouted at the army of robot commandos. "Their on the ropes, don't show any mercy, keep-" he was cut off by a blast that knocked him backwards. When the smoke cleared, he saw none other than the boy wonder and leader of the Teen Titans.

"Who are you?!" Robin demanded. The man grinned evilly.

"Names Rancid," he said, pulling a gun from his belt. "Johnny Rancid!" He fired a shot at Robin's chest. Robin dodged and leaped at Johnny Rancid, aiming a kick at the older man's chest. Johnny grabbed Robin's leg out of midair and tossed him off the railing, down to the crossfire below. Robin shot his grappling hook, which wrapped around the railing. He swung under and over the catwalk and landed behind Johnny Rancid. Robin delivered a kick to his opponent's back, knocking him against the railing. Johnny turned and punched Robin across the chin, sending the young hero staggering backwards.

Below, four teenagers blew the massive garage-type door down and poured in, ready for combat. "Teen Titans, go!" Cyborg shouted as they charged the robots. The sudden arrival of the teenage vigilanties gave the defenders time to retreat, dropping their weapons and fleeing for their lives. Those who remained drew batons and billy clubs and rushed the robot forces, most of them being beaten back easily. The Titans on the other hand held their ground, Cybor firing his sonic cannon from the cover of a few crates while Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy engaged the robots in close combat.

It worked for a while-until Robin fell from the catwalk. A black forcefield shot out to cushin his landing at the last second. Johnny Rancid leaped down, landing on the crates Cyborg was using for cover, and delivered a kick to the robotic teen's chin.

"Stupid kids!" he yelled triumphantly. "Ain't no way in hell you're stopping the force that is Slade and Johnny Rancid!" He aimed his gun at Cyborg's chestplate, grinning. "No way in hell," he whispered.

A robot's head exploded, then another, then a third and finally, the gun flew from Johnny Rancid's hand. Johnny did a double take, trying to figure out what had done that. He got his answer in the form of another exploding robot head. He looked up to a platform to see someone, arm outstretched as if holding a gun. The person pulled something from his belt and hurled it at a cluster of robots- a grenade. The grenade exploded, sending robot parts flying everywhere.

The person jumped down and landed at Johnny's feet. He ducked down and did a sweep kick, knocking the Johnny's legs out from under him. As he fell a punch was delivered to his stomach, then another to his head, sending Johnny Rancid flying. The person pulled the gun out again and fired twice more, destroying two more robots. The remaining opponents fled.

The Titans stared in awe at their savior. Strangely enough, he wasn't a soldier, or Batman, or anyone else. He was a teenage boy with thick dark hair and a Colt .45 revolver in his hand...

RR76: Whew. That took a while. Tell me what you think. NOW!!!


	3. Invitation

RRXI: The thing won't let me use 76 anymore... so I'm going with XI. Don't like it? Tough. Just read it.

**Review Responses:  
**

**Fourthelement: I had that scene in mind before I wrote the first chapter. Thanks!**

**Poopy Penguin: Thanks. Like I say, if your fight scene sucks, then so does the story.**

**Queen-Of-Azerath: Heh. Thanks. I'll take that 'better than your other stories' thing as a compliment. I had another that was supposed to be my best story... but it never really panned out. Better luck to this, eh?**

**SaintH: I'm sorry! When I first updated this, I forgot about your review! So sorry! Please forgive me and all that! Anyway, thank you. I do try. **

* * *

He was tall, maybe 5'9" and wore a grey jacket. In his left hand was a still-smoking Colt .45 revolver. He had thick, unruly dark hair that conceled his face, to a degree, giving him an intimidating appearence. On his back was a military style sword, maybe a saber. His face was expressionless as he stared at Johnny Rancid's form lying against the wall. 

Johnny Rancid pulled himself from the debris and tossed off his jacket. "You little bastard..." he snarled, drawing a curved, black knife. He charged at the newcomer, who stood there stoicly, unmoving. At the last second, he leapt upward, turned in midair and slammed the side of his foot into Johnny Rancid's face, sending him flying against the far wall of the warehouse.

The boy smirked and pulled the sword from it's sheath. He drew back his arm and flung it like a spear at his opponent. Johnny Rancid ducked and charged again, holding the knife over his head. "Ever wonder what a bare-brain feels like!" he shouted ferociously at his victim. The boy stepped down from the crate and stood unmoving again.

Suddenly, Johnny Rancid lowered his shouldar and slammed into the boy, hurling him across the room into a support pillar, sending a catwalk falling onto him with a sickening screech. Johnny Rancid grinned evilly at his fallen opponent and picked up his gun. Turning his attention back to the Titans, he said "You kids wanna see a dead body?" and threw the knife at Robin. Robin ducked, but the knife hit his cape, pinning him to the crate behind him. Robin struggled to pull the knife from the wood, but it wouldn't budge. Johnny Rancid grinned again and aimed the gun at Robin. "Move one step, and the kid gets it," he threatened the Titans.

An explosion erupted under the fallen catwalk, a bright light stunning the combatants. When the light faded, they saw the boy, enveloped in an aura of flames. His eyes glowed black and when he spoke, his voice sounded inhuman, almost demonic.

"Filthy mortal," he snarled, raising his right hand. "Allow me to show you the essence of pain!" A light like a blue flame shot from his arm, hitting Johnny Rancid in the stomach. He screamed in agony and begged for mercy before his tourturer. After a moment, the attack ceaced and Johnny Rancid collapsed against a crate, not moving. A moment later the aura of flames disappated from the boy and his eyes cleared. His face was still expressionless, though for a moment it flickered, an expression of shock replacing it. It was only a moment, and the confident, emotionless face reasserted itself. His jacket was torn to shreds, but physically, he seemed almost unharmed.

Starfire carefully crossed to Johnny Rancid's unmoving form and felt for his pulse. "He is alive," she reported, turning to Robin.

"What was that?" Robin asked, still in awe over the teen's power. He suceeded in pulling Johnny Rancid's knife from the crate and turned back to the Titans. He noticed that Raven seemed to be worn out. She was sweating and panting heavily, her face flushed, and was leaning against a crate for support. "You okay?" Robin asked. Raven nodded.

"Just... I felt his power," she said. "And it wasn't human. If I wasn't in total control over myself... I'd probably have lost it." She tried to stand on her own but collapsed. Beast Boy caught her and helped her to her feet.

"You sure you're okay?" Beast Boy asked, slowly letting go of the telepath. Raven nodded again and stood, still shaking. "I'll be fine," she reassured him.

"Back to the topic at hand..." Robin said, indicating the unknown teen, who was checking his joints to see if anything was broken. "What do we do about him?"

"Talk to him," Cyborg said. "You're good at introductions."

Starfire squealed. "Oh yes, it would be most joyous to have another friend with which I can talk to and train with and have the 'girl talk,' and-"

"Okay, that's about enough Star," Robin said, looking slightly annoyed, almost as if he was considering against talking to the newcomer.

"Besides," Raven said dryly. "I'm not sure he'd be too interested in girl talk." Starfire looked disappointed. Robin scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do.

"Well!" Beast Boy said impatiently. "What are you waiting for! GO TALK TO HIM ALREADY!"

The teen was reloading his revolver when Robin stepped onto the pile of debris. "Um... hi?" he said.

"...hi." the other teen said, seemingly uninterested.

Robin sighed. This wouldn't be easy. "I'm Robin," he said, extending his hand. The teen looked at it for a moment, then took it and shook it lightly. "Carson," he said.

Robin seemed to gain confidence. He motioned to the Titans. "These are my friends-"

"Cyborg, Stafire, Beast Boy, and Raven. The Teen Titans," he finished, closing the chamber to his revolver. "I'd heard of you." He holstered the revolver and stepped down from the pile of debris, striding to where the other Titans stood. He stooped over and picked up Johnny Rancid's knife, walked over to the aforementioned thug's unconcious form and removed the knife's sheath from his belt.

"Um... we kinda need that for evidence," Cyborg said, pointing to the knife. Carson sheathed the knife and attatched it to his own belt. "I need a trophy," he said darkly. He turned to face the Titans.

There was silence between them, then Beast Boy spoke up. "You aren't from around here, are you?"

"Not really-" Carson begain, but Starfire interrupted him, grabbing him by the shouldars talking rapidly.

"Where are you from how did you get here what is your favorite color do you wish to be my friend?" she said gleefully.

"Gotham, walked, black, and why not?" Carson said deadpan. Starfire squealed in delight, threw her arms around him and squeezed as hard as she could... only to realize she'd been squeezing the air. Carson had jumped back onto a crate and was staring down at the bubbly alien. "I don't hug," he said darkly, and stepped down from the crate.

"You're from Gotham?" Robin said, surprised. "And you say you walked here?" Carson nodded and Robin sighed, dropping it.

"So..." Raven said, trying to break the ice. "What's with the exploading catwalk?" Carson stared at the rubble with a thoughtful expression on his face, taking his time to answer. "I don't know," he said quietly. "That's never happened before..." he trailed off.

Beast Boy changed the subject. "So you lived in Gotham?"

"I still do," Carson said. "I'm here on buisiness, not pleasure." He looked at the robot parts scattered around them. "I was a merenary in Gotham. Usually worked in the slums. It was pretty small time. Then I found out about a job here in Jump. Has to do with some crime lord named Slade."

The Titans fell silent. Carson broke the silence. "I take it you've heard of him before?"

"Fought him," Robin said bitterly. "Haven't heard from him in a while. We kinda figured he went undergound."

Carson shook his head. "Doesn't matter. My job is to find him, wherever he is, and bring him in. Dead or alive."

Robin stepped forward. "And who do work for?"

"My client prefers to remain anonymous," Carson said automatically. Obviously, they weren't going to get much out of him. Carson was way too secrative.

Starfire spoke up. "I am curious: If you live in the Gotham City, where are you staying now?"

Carson motioned around him. "Welcome to my humble abode. Which, incidentally," ha added, "isn't a very good place to stay anymore."

"Why not stay with us then?" Robin asked. "I mean, we're after the same guy, and you've got nowhere else to go."

Carson shrugged."Got nowhere else to go. Might as well."

Cyborg grinned. "Car's this way, come on."

"You go on ahead," Carson said. "I'll be there in a moment." He motioned to Johnny Rancid. "What about him?"

"I'll deal with him," Robin said. "You go home without me.

The Titans turned and left the ruined warehouse, their new comrade still standing in the rubble. Carson walked to the far wall where Johnny Rancid had landed and felt around for his jacket. He found it, threw off the shreds of his old one, and put on his fallen opponents. He turned back to follow the Titans out the exit, but stopped to look at the catwalk, the twisted metal a testament to his rage. Carson shook his head and left the ruins of his old home.

RRXI: Got kinda clunky towards the end, I thought, but hey. Please review.


	4. Vision

RRXI: This'll probably be the last time I'll be able to update for a while. Report cards are due out soon, so... Look, sorry, but this is what you'll have to settle for this time around. I'll update again as soon as possible.

**Review Responses:**

**Berreta Pakin Mailman: Did I get that right? Sorry if I didn't. Thank you. I'm a-workin on it.**

**Queen-Of-Azerath: I guess I just picked it up somewhere. Yep... Thanks again for the review. I'll have to punish myself for making him quote Terra. Pain to me.**

**Fourthelement: Yep, he isn't the hugging type. No one EVER said anything about the girl talk remark. That was the funny moment... what're ya gonna do, I guess. Thanks.**

**Poopy Penguin: I'll do my best to keep you intrigued. I think this chapter'll do that.**

I own only Carson. Nothing else. BTW, they are now at the tower, just so's ya knows.

* * *

Robin flicked on the light switch as the Titans and their guest stepped into the living room. "Fridge, couch, TV. Knock yerself out" Beast Boy said, yawning. The other Titans began to walk to their respective rooms, leaving only Carson and Robin standing next to the massive door. 

"Hey Raven" Robin called down the hall. The telepath turned to face her leader. "Mind showing Carson to the spare room?"

"Does this make me his bellhop?" Raven said dryly, but motioned for Carson to follow her anyway. She knew damned well why Robin wanted her to take Carson to his room. He wanted to know how he thinks. And who better to find out then the resident psychic? Never mind his hidden power had nearly caused her to loose control over her own powers- she'd have to ask Carson about that later.

The two stopped in front of the spare room. "Here you go" Raven said. "Don't expect anything else from me during your stay."

"Of course" Carson said, but Raven couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. She suddenly remembered her job and focused her mental powers on forming a connection between her mind and Carsons'. Her powers reached out and connected with Carson- and she suddenly lose contact as a jumble of images rushed into her head. She inhaled sharply, in shock.

Carson noticed and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" he said, his voice completly devoid of concern.

"I'm... fine" Raven stammered. She turned and walked away from the teenage mercenary, leaving him slightly intruiged at Raven's behavior.

* * *

Raven was walking through a hallway, her footsteps echoing loudly off the metal walls. She looked around, seeing no signs of life anywhere. 'Interesting..." Raven thought. 'Where is everyone?' As if to answer her question, a body was thrown against the wall, a cracking noise accompanying it as the spine of the person cracked. She heard gunshots as another person came into view, an M-16 (a/n: The rifle the army uses) spraying bullets down the hall. A flash of light hit him in the chest and he exploded. 

The room dispappeared. Rocks were everywhere. Ahead was a mountain, coated in ash. Screams. People. Flames licked Raven's legs, and those flames turned into arms. People were clawing at her, begging her to join them.

The hands left. Raven was on the mountain. Three shapes - more people. Two of them turned around. A gentleman in a suit. A man in a black and blue cloak, a hood concealing his face. The third one turned to face her.

Short black hair, a black cape fluttering about him. He was dressed in armor, black and silver. His eyes were black and souless. Raven gasped. That person was Carson (a/n: his eyes are green, but in this dream, they're black)! Flames again licked at her. Her body burned, her cape shriveled, she screamed in pain as her hair caught fire, burning away in an instant. And for the first time in her life, Raven was completly terrified. She screamed again, as her terror and her pain consumed her.

Raven bolted upright in her bed, gasping for air. Her sheets were soaked with sweat. _A dream,_ she thought to calm herself. _It was only a dream. Nothing more. _

She wasn't convinced.

* * *

RRXI: Best I got. I'm so increadibly sorry about this, I did all I could. And no, I WAS NOT RIPPING OFF FROM BIRTHMARK! Ask Fourthelement. She knows. Anyway, I'll update as soon as I can. R/R. 

-RaidersruleXI


	5. True Colors, Part One

RRXI: No more Pre Teen Titans. I'm sorry. As soon as the frickin site stops being so anal retentive, I'll repost it. Till then... I really am sorry. Thank you everybody who read it and liked it.

I do not own Teen Titans. Or advil.

**Pre-Teen Titans: 11/11/04-2/13/05. R.I.P.**

**Review Responses:**

**Poopy Penguin: Was it not hellish enough? Tell me. Thanks for the review, and finish your story! I've been waiting for the next chapter!**

**Queen-Of-Azerath: And that's why my family loathes AOL. That and they think Bill Gates is Satan. I thought the chapter wasn't too good, to be honest. Thanks.**

**fourthelement: I just saw your review after I uploaded this chapter. So anyway, yep. That's gonna be big later on. Not in this story, but in the others. This is the first in a 5-part series. Hope I can keep you interested that long.**_**  
**_

**The Wild Ambition: At least try. I really don't think this story's that good anyway, but I still try. And he's not just any merc... he's a HELLISH MERC! MUAHAHAHAHA! Yep... **_**  
**_

_**Starting now, I will have a quote at the beginning of each chapter from either a charecter on the show, a charecter on a differant show, or a writer on this site.**_

_**Quote of the Chapter: "Silver and Black football is king of the hill!"-Bill King at the end of Super Bowl 18**_

Raven entered the living room to find the usual chaos of breakfast gone. Beast Boy and Cyborg were both playing video games quietly (or as quiet as two teenage boys playing video games can be, which isn't very quiet mind you), Robin was reading through the newspaper for any mention of Slade, and Star was helping him. There was no sign of Carson.

_Good, _Raven thought. _I'm not sure if I can face him after last night... or this morning... or whatever it was. _She went into the kitchen, got out a tea bag, put a kettle of water on the stove and proceeded to make her herbal tea. Her head was pounding- either from the lack of caffine or the hellish vision she saw- and she made a mental note to pick up some advil at the store this afternoon. She started to walk to the living room but tripped and banged her knee against the counter. "DAMMIT!" she shouted, loud enough for the whole city to hear.

Beast Boy and Cyborg paused the game and Robin and Starfire looked up from the reaserch at their friend. Raven blushed and put on her hood. "What?" she snapped. "I'm under alot of stress right now."

"PMSs? (so many people are gonna hate me for that)" Beast Boy asked absently, earning a smack from his teammates. Raven glared at him. "None of your business," she growled. A loud whistling sound caught her attention and she turned back to the kettle.

"Um... friend?" Starfire piped up. "Where is this stress that you are underneath?"

"It's a figure of speech Star," Robin explained. "She means that she's got alot on her mind."

"Oh. Such as...?"

"Ask her yourself."

"I don't want to talk about it." Raven said curtly. She dipped the tea bag in her tea absentmindedly and sighed. "But I don't have a choice. Last night, or this morning, or whatever, when I went to take Carson to his room... I had a vision."

"Of what?" Beast Boy asked, suddenly interested.

Raven took a deep breath. "Hell."

The room fell silent, until Starfire spoke up with another question. "I have heard the term 'hell' used by many of the criminals on this planet, but I do wonder... what is this Hell?"

"The home of the damned," Raven said, and added, "My fathers' old hangout."

"You sure it was Hell?" Beast Boy asked, awestruck.

"Gee, it was either the hellfire or the souls of the damned clawing at me that gave it away, but I'm pretty sure it was hell," Raven snapped, her hands balling into fists. She calmed herself and said "I know what Hell looks like, trust me. That was Hell. I don't know why Carson has images of hell dancing in his head, but for whatever reason..." she trailed off, then added, "There's more. Mostly images, but it's still a jumble. I'll let you know when-" she shut up suddenly as Carson entered the room, going straight for the paper.

Cyborg was the first to speak. "Uh... hey Carson. Wanna play?" he said, holding up a control pad.

"I have work to do," Carson said, picking up the paper and walking back out. The Titans exchanged a confused glance.

* * *

A knock sounded at the door. Carson put down his revolver and opened the door to see Starfire's ever cheerful face. 

"Friend, there is a sale on three week old cabbage at the market of the farmers (a/n: farmers markets suck. I have issues with them, don't ask). Might you wish to accompany me?"

"I'm on a no e-coli diet, thank you," Carson said sarcastically and closed the door in Starfire's face. Five minutes later there was another knock at the door. This time it was Robin.

"Wanna spar?" he asked.

"Sure," Carson said dully. Without warning Robin threw a punch at Carson's face. Carson knocked the blow away and thrust his palm forward in a half second, knocking Robin against the wall. "I win," he said, and closed the door.

2 minutes later... do I have to say it? This time it was Beast Boy. He opened his mouth to say something, but the door slammed in his face before he could get anything out.

Carson went back to what he was doing... which was pretty much nothing, actually. He inwardly sighed. The merc biz didn't leave much room for hobbies, did it?

* * *

"Why do I have to talk to him?" 

"Because the rest of us already tried. He just ignored us."

"He ignored you, he slammed ME into a wall."

"You don't have to read his mind, Rae. Jus' invite him along for pizza."

"Do I have too...?"

"C'mon Raven, just ask him already. I'm hungry!"

"Perhaps Raven requires a 'pep talk'?"

"Ugh... fine."

That was an interesting exchange, wasn't it? (in order: Raven, Cyborg, Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire, Raven. Remember that kiddies. Or not) Back to the story now.

The door opened to reveal a very annoyed looking Carson gripping a box of polish, a rag, and his revolver. "What now?" he sighed, exasperated.

Raven steeled her nerves and ignored the urge to run as fast as she could away from the gunslinging teen. "The other are making he ask if you want to come along with us for pizza."

"Not hungry," Carson said dismissively. Before he could shut the door, his stomach started growling loud enough for the people in the book category to hear (this ISN'T a comedy, I just thought that would be a funny line. Back to the story).

"Not hungry, huh?" Raven said, smirking. Carson just glared. "Whatever."

* * *

"Pepperoni!" 

"Cauliflour!"

"What type of flower is this 'Cauli'?"

"I don't think cauliflour is even a pizza topping Beast Boy."

"Hear that? We're getting pepperoni!"

"Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged..."

"Put the spork down Rae. I'll handle this. DAMMIT BB, WE'RE GETTING PEPPERONI AND THAT'S FINAL!"

"HOW CAN YOU EVEN EAT THAT! EVER HEARD OF TRYCHNOSIS!"

The waitress stood uncomfortably. "Um... so 1 extra large pepperoni pizza?" Nobody heard her over the arguing of Cybrorg and Beast Boy.

Carson sighed "2 large pizzas, one pepperoni mushroom, one vegetarian."

The waitress smiled. "Friend of the Titans?"

"Buisiness partner."

The waitress's smile disappeared. "I'll be back with your order," she said and walked inside. Carson leaned over to Raven and whispered "Does this happen often?" Raven shrugged.

"Wow," Carson remarked. "I don't think they've even noticed the waitress is gone."

"They never do," Raven sighed.

The shrill scream of an elderly lady broke through Beast Boy and Cyborg's argument. The Titans rushed to the railing to see a man in 'gangsta' clothes wrestling with an old woman for her purse. He finally succeeded in pulling it from her and took off down the street.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted. The Titans leaped over the railing to the thug, but Carson stayed up there. He pulled an object from his belt and produced a small gun with a round cylinder. A flare gun. He loaded the flare into the gun and took aim at the unsuspecting thug.

Meanwhile, the Titans had cut off his escape and had their respective weapons (Beast Boy was a tiger) aimed at the thug. "Sorry," Robin said. "The purse just isn't your look." The thug pulled a knife from his belt, intent on not going down without a fight.

A loud noise and a bright light caught everyone's attention. The thug turned to see a bright red flare zooming towards him. He let out a scream of pure terror and tried to run, but it was too late. The flare exploded on contact, the thug's body burst into flames and he kept screaming for help. The Titans were frozen where they stood, unable to move, until Carson came down, his revolver in his hand. He aimed and fired two shots, and the thug fell dead, his body still smouldering.

The Titans stared at Carson as the brutality of the thug's death settled over them. His clothes were barely recognizable, his shoes melted till they stuck to his feet. The flesh on his head had been scorched off- only the blackened skull remained, the jawbone hanging loosely from one end, the white teeth flashing in the afternoon sun.

Beast Boy was the first to speak. "Dude... what did you do?"

Carson turned his back on his victim. "Discresion," he said darkly, "isn't in the job description".

* * *

RRXI: Too slow moving? Tell me what you think! Review! 


	6. Ture Colors, Part Two

RR76: This chapter may come late. I've been having writers block, and thus dis here chapter may suck. That rhymes... kinda. On the plus side, you find out Carson's last name, if that's at all interesting...

**Review Responses:**

**Queen-Of-Azerath: I think that tems copyrighted... but who cares. Screwed up. No prob. And stuff... Thanks. Need the kind words to keep me going on this. No flames yet, always a plus. TROQ wasn't on, was it? They always stop it midway through the season for no reason (also rhymes) whatsoever. Something must be done about this... wow. Long response.**

**Poopy Penguin: Don't mind lateness. I just HATE farmers markets. Where I used to live, I was dragged off to one every saturday, and half the plants there were pot... I think. I'm starting to be suspicious about the smells there... **

**Wild Ambition: Pssh... sure they are. Only flare guns are meant to signal for help. Plus, they can do that immolation thing. YAY IMMOLATION.**

Don't own, don't sue. Do own Carson. He is MINE! MINE I TELLS YAS! MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!

R/R

* * *

"Anyone needs me, I'll be in my room," Carson said the second they walked into the living room. Not that anyone was eager to bother him. The image of the dead street thug was still fresh in their minds. 

As soon as he was gone Robin turned to the others. "Anyone else not trust him anymore?"

"Didn't trust him to begin with," Raven said darkly. "As if I needed more convincing".

"The dude killed someone. He SHOT someone. I don't know 'bout you guys, but I'm not comfortable with him sleeping right down the hall from me," Cyborg said, folding his arms.

"What he said," Beast Boy added.

"I believe the term is 'ditto'?" Starfire finished.

Robin shook his head. "Didn't think so-" A thought struck him. "Carson- he said he worked in Gotham City, right?" Murmurs of agreement arose from his friends. "Wouldn't that mean I would have heard of him? I lived there for years, and I'd never heard of an underage vigilante... other than myself," he added.

"Robin's right," Raven said. "Has anyone even heard of Carson?" The Titans looked at each other.

Robin began giving out assignments. "Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, I want you guys to get on the Internet and try to find any mentions of Carson. I want something by the end of the day. Starfire, you're with me. Get moving people."

"Man, this is boring," Beast Boy complained. "The first non-cloudy day in weeks, and I'm stuck in here doing research on some hell-seeing murderer.

"Beast Boy, shut up and do something," Raven snapped. Beast Boy slumped back in his chair.

"Where're we supposed to check anyway? The F.B.I.'s most wanted?" Beast Boy said sarcastically.

"Not a bad idea," said Cyborg. He typed in the adress to the F.B.I. homepage and scanned down the Most Wanted list for Carson's name. (I don't know anything about the FBI homepage, but I bet it's nothing like this)

"Any luck?" Raven asked. Cyborg shook his head. "Try and narrow the search," she suggested. Cyborg typed 'carson' in the search box.

**Results 1-10 of 112,000 listed **the screen said. Cyborg sighed. "Better get to work," he grumbled. He started clicking the names down the list, each one showing a picture of someone who looked nothing like Carson. After an hour of scanning down the names, however...

"Robin, think we got something," Cyborg called. Robin and Starfire put down the newspapers and rushed to the computor.

"There's no photo, but it's our best find all day," Cyborg explained. "And as far as we can tell, he's not another used car salesman, quarterback, or porn site."

"Hmm..." Robin read the information on the screen. "Carson Elam, age... classified? Huh?"

"The good kind, right? The one that means he's got class?" Beast Boy asked hopefully.

"A guy who uses a flare gun to kill his victoms doesn't tend to have much class, Beast Boy," Raven said, rolling her eyes.

"Height, classified, weight classified... doesn't he have ANY info that isn't classified!" Robin fumed.

"Hey, check this out," Beast Boy said. "'Wanted for questioning... by the United States Armed Forces? What's the Army got to do with this guy?"

"Wow... you finally did something," Raven said, a small smile on her face. Beast Boy glared at her.

"Guys, not now!" Robin snapped. "Last seen in the Mojave Desert?"

"How d'you figure he got all the way out there without dying?" Cyborg asked, a confused expression on his human features. Robin ignored the question and scrolled down to the bottom. "3 known contacts... Jessica and Warren Sabel, and... Colonol Richard Fargas, United States Air Force..."

"There's the Army again... think there's a connection?" Raven asked.

Robin's eyes were still glued to the screen. He paled suddenly, and his voice was low and shaky as he read the last line. "350,000,000 reward for the capture of Carson Elam... dead or alive." The room fell silent.

"Chilling..." Starfire said quietly.

* * *

Slade's face appeared on the screen. "Can I help you?" he asked in a bored tone. 

"I can't do it," Slade's contact said in a low voice. Slade cocked his head to one side. "Whatever do you mean?" he said condescendingly.

The agent rolled his eyes. "You know damn well what I'm talking about," he snapped. "No way in hell I could assassinate them. They're too..." he searched for the right word.

"I hope you're not trying to get out of your contract?" Slade asked. The agent shook his head. "I simply mean I can't assassinate them. They don't deserve that kind of death."

"Who said anything about assassination? Just take a gun, find them, mock them, shoot them. It's that easy." Slade said, irritated. The agent shook his head again. "They'd kill me before I could take two steps."

"I see..." Slade murmered. "Then perhaps now you see why I wanted the information?"

The agent snapped his fingers. "The security codes to the tower..."

"He finally gets it," Slade said offscreen to Terra. He looked the agent straight in the eye. "Send them to me immediately." The link terminated itself abruptly, an orange and silver "S" replacing it.

The agent turned off the communicator. "Understood..." he said quietly to no one but the darkness.

* * *

Bad chapter. Sorry. I tend to criticize myself for mistakes. All mistakes, no matter how tiny, Just... review please. Thanks. 


	7. True Colors, Part Three

RR76: I am SORRY. SORRY for the embarrassment that was last chapter. For the last two weeks I have been kicking myself for that piece of (censor) that was last chapter. I swear, this will more than make up for it... I hope. This will show you why I upped the rating (not a sex scene).

Oh yeah, there's a hidden joke in last chapter. Only Poopy Penguin would get it though. When Cyborg says, "And as far as we can tell, he's not another used car salesman, quarterback, or porn site." I'm making a referance to the source of Carson's name: Carson Palmer, the quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals. I woulda given him a Raider name, but none really... fit his charecter.

On the plus side, the Coloniel is named after Justin Fargas. On the DOWN side, his last name comes from Jason Elam, the Broncos kicker. In celebration of the game against Denver, you see.

**Review Responses**

**The Wild Ambition: Hey, makes sense. They just escape and go out and do more bad things. Of course, Carson is on the FBI's most wanted list, so more than likely (in fact, I ASSURE you) that he's killed more people. And will kill again. Oh yeah, could you give me the link to the FBI's site? I tried it under dot com, dot org and dot net (it doesn't let you use the site names), and I didn't come up with anything.**

**Queen-Of-Azerath: Yeah... uh... I was too lazy to come up with actual last names for them. Hope you don't mind.**

**rav4990: No promises, but I'll do my best.**

**Fourthelement: Carson isn't really a Titan. He's just a guy they picked up in a warehouse that's currently living with them.**

**Don't own, don't sue.**

* * *

The alarm blared and a red light filled the room. Robin bookmarked the page and closed down the FBI's site, bringing up a map of the city. A blip on the far side of the screen indicated where the crime was taking place. "Bank robbery downtown. At least three criminals," Robin reported. The door to the hall hissed open and Carson stepped out, walking to the computor. 

"Something happen?" he asked casually, looking at the screen. The other Titans instinctively took a half step away from him.

"Bank robbery. Wanna come with?" Robin asked. Carson shrugged. "Gets kind of boring going over newspaper articles all day. Then again, you should know," he said smugly, tilting his head in the direction of the newspaper covered kitchen table. He turned back to Robin. "So yeah, might as well."

As they headed in the direction of the garage, Cyborg stopped Robin. "You sure it's a good idea to bring him along? I mean, last time-"

"We'll see what happens," said Robin, cutting off his friend.

* * *

A gunshot rang out in the bank as the three criminals (robbers sounds cheesy) backed out of the bank, bags of money in both hands. A birdarang hit one of their legs and he fell to the ground. The weapon returned to it's owner as Robin, Cyborg and Raven stood blocking the path of the thieves. Their heads turned to see a wooly mammoth blocking their path on the other side, and Starfire hovering over them, her hands glowing green. 

The one in the middle grinned and started laughing, confounding her would-be opponents. "Robin and the Teen Titans, isn't it? Heard you guys took down Johnny Rancid. I tell ya, you did us a favor. Killed half of us before that gig here in Jump came along."

"Um... half? Us? What's she talking about?" Raven asked.

The leader's grin widened. "I'm talking about them," she said, extending her arms. Bikers, thugs, rapists, serial killers and so on stepped out of the surrounding buildings. They circled the Titans, cutting of their escape.

"I'm guessin' at least 40 of them," Cyborg said. "And I doubt they're here to just congragulate us."

The leader leaped onto the top of the bank and stared at the small army she had assembled. "We are the White Scarves. And you are our latest victims!"

The White Scarves tightened their circle, further surrounding the Titans till they were almost back to back. Robin saw no alternative. "Titans, GO!" he shouted.

The Titans charged outward, engaging the White Scarves in hand to hand combat. Their leader just watched gleefully, staring down at the battle beneath her. The Titans were fighting valiantly, but they were no match for the superior numbers of the White Scarves, who seemed nearly indestructable. Every time they were knocked down with a blow that should have rendered them unconcious, they got back up and fought more furiously than before. Slowly, the Titans were pushed back.

* * *

Robin fell down, knocked back by a blow from one of the thugs. The thug smiled wickedly and pulled out twin knives. He positioned one just above Robin's throat and drew his arm back to make the killing blow. Before he could, arms wrapped themselves around his head and slammed sideways, snapping his neck. The thug fell down to reveal Carson standing behind him. He stooped to pick up the knives from the dead thug's corpse and without a word went to his work. 

A biker rode at him and swung a chain at Carson, wrapping the chain around his left arm. Carson pulled his arm back and the biker flew free of his motorcycle, slamming into a building. Four more bikers rode at him and Carson pulled his revolver out, picking off each one without missing a shot. He stabbed behind him with one of the knives, impaling a would-be attacker. He pulled the knife free, turned, and brought the knife to meet his neck, decapitating him. Carson pulled the other knife out and slew another attacker.

Someone came at him from behind. Carson stepped out of the way of the massive thug and stabbed him in the chest with a knife, then drove the other into his back. He kicked a biker out of the way and stabbed both sides of his head with his knives, killing him instantly. He left the knives where they were and drew his saber, wading into the center of the fray in a whirling dance of death, cutting down enemy after enemy until there were no more enemies to speak of. He stood in the center of it all, surrounded by bloodied, dismembered bodies and watched as the other Titans rose to the grizzly monument to the mysterious boy's power. Carson sheathed his sword and stood there silently.

A bullet whizzed past his ear and he turned around to see the leader of the White Scarves standing, holding a gun. She lowered her free hand to her side and flexed her fingers, indicating her challenge. Carson lowered his own hand to his holster and flexed his fingers in return. The Titans stared in awe at the scene unfolding before them as Carson stood ready, an old-west style quick draw about to take place. The seconds dragged on, seeming like hours, until...

The White Scarve's leader suddenly drew her other gun, firing both in unison. Almost at the same time, Carson drew his revolver and fired a single shot. The three guns belched smoke and flame, and when the smoke cleared, both fighters stood unwavering.

Until, that is, the leader of the White Scarves wobbled and fell. The Titans rushed to her body and turned it over to see a hole between her eyes. They turned back to Carson, who was walking towards them, his left hand clutched into a fist.

Raven opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Beast Boy swallowed hard and chuckled nervously. "Guess you were quicker on the draw-"

Carson interrupted him by extending his left hand, fingers facing downward. He opened his fist and two bullets fell at his feet, still warm.

"I wasn't," Carson said quietly.

RR76: And the plot thickens... I think. Now do you see why I upped the rating?

R/R


	8. Wolf in the Fold

RR76: Awright, lesse what I can do here. I'm gonna write a prequel to Carson as soon as this story's done. Yeah. Plot twist, to those who didn't see it coming. yuuuuuup...

**Review Responses:**

**Queen-Of-Azerath (her review came by email): He is intriguing, ain't he? I upped the rating because some people would think that the fight was too bloody for a PG-13 rating. Some people are stupid, but whataya gonna do, eh? And I don't know if Upped is a word.**

**Aris Witch: Damn those puppets of the Bush administration! How was it on the Russian thing?**

**lostNfuzed: Thank you. Plot's about to take an interesting turn.**

**The Wild Ambition: I did, and it worked. But it's nothing like it is in here. Ah well.**

**Fourthelement: It isn't R for terrible reasons, just because this way they have no way to report me. Yeayness. By the way, I think you'll like this chapter.**

**Don't own, don't sue, don't flame.**

* * *

Bloodied and exhausted, the Titans returned to the tower, Carson (as usual) going straight to his room to sulk. Or whatever the hell he does in there. The Titans collapsed on the couch, too horrified by the battle to speak. So they sat there in silence, until Robin spoke up. "Cyborg, call the police," he said quietly. "Tell them we've got a murderer that needs dealing with." 

Before Cyborg could and alarm went off, bathing the room in it's red glow. Robin rushed to the computor and typed in something. "Someone's trying to access the security codes to the tower."

"Is it in the tower?" Raven asked as the rest of the Titans rushed to Robin's side. Robin typed in some more. "Yes. Eighth floor, room 6."

"Wait," said Cyborg. "Isn't that Carson's room?"

Robin opened his mouth to respond, but stopped suddenly as something finally clicked into place. He listened, detatched, as Starfire asked "Why would our friend do such a thing?"

"Because he isn't our friend," Robin growled. "Wait here."

* * *

The door fell to the ground with a metallic thud to reveal Carson standing with his back to Robin. "That door was unlocked, you know," he said. 

"Shut up," Robin snapped. He moved to withing a few feet of Carson. "Someone just tried to access the security program for the Tower."

"That's interesting," Carson said, uninterested. "What's that got to do with me?"

"We tracked the source. It was coming from your room." Carson was silent, so Robin continued. "I finally get it. The reason you've been in your room all this time. I get it now. You're not here to stop Slade. You're working for him!"

A moment passed, and then Carson let out a slow, quiet laugh. "Bravo Robin," he sneered, turning to face him. "The last horse finally crosses the finish line."

In a heartbeast Robin extended his bo staff and swung it full force, aiming for Carson's head, only to have it blocked by Johnny Rancid's knife. "Oh really now, Robin," Carson mocked. "You're not at all interested in why I'm doing this, or how I got away with it up until now? Actually, that last one is 'cause you're careless-"

"Shut UP!" Robin snarled. Carson smiled sinisterly (that a word?) "Angry, aren't we?"

"Why?" Robin asked. "If you were working for Slade... why did you stop his robots from getting the centrifuges?"

Carson laughed again. "There never WERE any centrifuges, Robin. Slade doesn't need a nuclear weapon. Or any 'weapon of mass destruction," he said the last bit with a mock Texas accent. "He's got plans for this city. Plans you can't even imagine."

"What?" Robin probed. Carson shrugged. "He didn't clue me in. Now, to answer your question... that Rancid fellow you met was hired by Slade to raid the warehouse to lure the Teen Titans into a trap. He meanwhile gave an anonymous tip to the F.B.I. that the fugitive Carson Elam would be at the docks in a warehouse. That set up my entrance."

"Johnnyboy wasn't given any details about what he was supposed to get, just that it was heavily guarded and that lethal force was authorized. Rancid was supposed to die... but he wasn't even worth killing. Plus," he added, "I couldn't let someone who was able to push me that far die. He had my respect at the end."

"He's a criminal, no better than you!" Robin snapped. "He doesn't deserve respect."

"I'm no criminal Robin. Haven't you learned after all that's happened not to trust government agencies? I know you saw my profile on the F.B.I. site. It's rather flattering, the reward they're offering."

Robin stared at the teenager standing innocently in front of him, playing with the wicked, purple and black knife taken from a fallen biker. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I have many names. Been called many things, not all of them nice. There's actually a bunch of people who think I'm the Devil. But personally... I like the name Carson best." He started to say more, but stopped, staring at Robin. "Are you wearing a wire?" he asked incredulously.

Before Robin could do anything, Carson snatched the communicator off Robin's belt to find it had been activated. "Just as bad..." he murmured. He dropped the communicator to the floor and crushed it under his foot.

* * *

Cyborg's arm screen turned to static. "Dammit..." he said under his breath. He turned to his friends. "We got enough info, let's go!"

* * *

"Your time's up," said Robin, a smile of triumph on his face. "The others are on their way now to help bring you down." 

Carson grinned. "I doubt that," he said optimistically. He lowered his hand to the computor behind him and pushed a button.

* * *

The elevetor groaned to a halt, the sickening sound of metal scraping against metal ringing in everyone's ears. When it stopped, the Titans looked around. 

"Aw crap..." Beast Boy sighed.

"Speak not of fecal matter yet friend," Starfire said, determined. "Cyborg, can you not make this elevator move again?"

"I'll see what I can do," the robotic teen said. He removed a panel and went to work, reconnecting wires in hopes of getting the elevator moving again.

* * *

"I don't need them to take you down!" Robin said, jumping back and assuming a fighting posture. 

Carson drew his sabre and pointed it at Robin in a fencing stance. "You'd be surprised..." he threatened.

With a cry, Robin leaped forward, swinging the staff aiming for Carson's side. The saber moved, effortlessly turning aside the strike, then blocking the next two swings Robin made. Robin grunted in frustration and rushed his opponent. Carson stepped out of the way and stuck out his foot, tripping Robin. He positioned his sabre just above his spine. "All too easy," Carson sighed. "I'm trying to see the potential Slade saw in you but-"

Robin interrupted by kicking Carson's feet out from under him. Carson stuck out his arm and pushed himself back onto his feet just as Robin swung his staff at Carson's face. Instead the blade intercepted the metal staff, turned it aside and with a flick of his wrist (literally) Carson cut Robin across his chest. Robin gave a short cry in pain, then roared at Carson as he charged again, swinging his staff furiously, trying to catch the powerful assassin off guard. He had no such luck though. Every motion he made with his sword, every block, every swing was carefully calculated to counter Robin. Robin thrusted with the staff. Carson stepped out of the way and kicked Robin in the head. Robin staggered backward and Carson took advantage of Robin's pain to go on the offensive.

Carson advanced, swinging his weapon with deadly percision, stopping to deliver a kick every now and then to further weaken his opponent. Still, Robin showed no signs of giving up, gallantly fighting on, keeping Carson at bay. Eventually, though, he began to grow tired. His muscles ached from the fighting, his breathes growing shorter and shorter with each movement. He dodged another swing from Carson's sabre, only to recieve a blow to the ribs to compensate for the the miss. Carson kicked again, hitting Robin in the stomach. He staggered backward, trying to regain his equilibrium, as Carson raised his sword to deliver the killing blow. He brought the blade crashing down... only to have Robin step out of the way and kick Carson across the chin. He swung with his staff again, hittin Carson in the face. Carson swung his sword again. Robin dodged and kicked the blade out of his hands. He swund again, and Carson grabbed the end of the staff.

"You were a fool to try and mess with us," Robin said, sweat streaming down his face. Carson grinned, still seemingly unfatigued. "No Robin," he said with an air of menace. "You were a fool for trusting me."

With that he swung his end of the staff, sending Robin crashing into the wall. Carson sighed again and pulled his revolver from his bandolier. "A mistake I'm going to make sure you don't make again," he said sinisterly (word?)

A green starbolt flew across the room at Carson's head. He dodged and watched the starbolt crash into a wall, blowing a man-sized hole open. He turned to see Starfire, her eyes glowing green in the doorway, a furious expression on her face. Another wall exploded outward and Cyborg came through. A black hole appeared in the celing as Raven and Beast Boy fell through.

Carson took a few steps back to the computor, pushing a button on the PC. A CD came out and Carson slipped it into a paper sleeve. "I got what I came for. And I'd just like to take this oppertunity to thank you all for being so generous-"

"SHUT UP YOU FILTHY SON OF A CLORBAG!" Starfire shouted, throwing another starbolt at Carson. He dodged again and the starbolt hit the computor, destroying the machine. Carson backflipped over Cyborg and ran out the hole he made in the wall, dodging the sonic cannon as he went.

The Titans averted their attention to their leader. "Robin!" Starfire said as she flew over to him.

"You're hurt," Raven said. "Let me-"

"I'm... fine." Robin said haltingly. "Get... Carson... he has the security-" he started coughing uncontrollably.

"Rest here Robin," Starfire said, getting to her feet. "We will take care of Carson. He will pay for this. I promise."

* * *

RR76: If anyone didn't see that plot twist coming a mile away, please tell me. For now, review. 


	9. Confrontation

RR76: Yup. My updates are gonna be alot less frequent. My stupid brother is being stupid... yeah.

**Review Responses:**

**lostNfuzed: Yeay. My fight scenes are good. I will dance...**

**Queen-Of-Azerath: Yeah... too predictable. I don't got anything against Star, preposity aside. Stupid curtains made it impossible for me to hate her.**

**Poopy Penguin: I think it was just a third round pick, actually.**

**im in a mood to kill people: Shiny things are cool... ha. Nice work with the russian thing... if you're still alive that is.**

**fourthelement: He's not evil. He's just a guy trying to make a living the only way he knows how.**

**The Wild Ambition: "...and sprayed bullets into Terra the anerexic bitch stick from hell."**

**Don't own, don't sue, don't flame.**

* * *

Carson ran up another flight of stairs, dodging a flurry of starbolts as he went. He came to a door and threw it open, stepping inside. Or rather, outside. The door led to the celing. He looked around, scanning his battleground for potential weapons, seeing only a couple poles used to attatch a net for volleyball. He stepped away from the door and pulled out an old-fashioned watch on a gold chain, pressing a button at the top. The watch made a beeping noise and he put it back in his pocket. 

The door behind him exploded and Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg burst through, Raven phasing through the celing. "End of the line, traitor," said Raven darkly.

Carson slowly turned around to face his enemies. "Traitor? That kind of talk hurts, Raven. I was never a Titan, or any of your friend. You have your own selves to blame for my infiltration." As he spoke, he subtly began to remove his revolver from it's holster. "No surprise Robin couldn't do anything to stop me. He's not a real hero- just a kid playing dress-up trying to be like his-" Starfire shouted something in Tameranian and flew at Carson. He smirked, raised his gun and fired off one shot.

Starfire fell to the ground, clutching her side. Dark red blood seeped through her fingers, her expression one of immense pain and fury. Carson's smirk grew and prepared to fire a second shot when Cyborg's blue sonic cannon hit him in the chest, sending him flying backward. He landed on the far side with a grunt.

The other Titans were at Starfire's side in an instant. "Hold still," Raven said. "I may be able to stop the bleeding." She began to use her powers to remove the bullet and heal the wound when a knife flew through the air and lodged itself in Cyborg's left arm, sending sparks shooting in all directions. The Titans turned their attention back to Carson as he ripped a pole off the ground... ceiling... whatever and held it out like a staff. "Can we get on with this?" he said, bored. "I do have somewhere I need to be, you know."

"That wouldn't happen to be Hell, by any chance?" Raven growled, her eyes glowing white. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon again. Carson jumped out of the way and the cannon blew a hole in the ground where he was standing. Beast Boy turned into a tiger and leaped at Slade's agent, claws outstretched. Carson swung his makeshift staff and hit Beast Boy in his side. He looked up to see Cyborg charging at him, firing his sonic cannon wildly. Carson dodged every shot and jumped into the air, coming down behind Cyborg. Cybrog turned around and began to punch wildly at his opponent. Carson stepped out of the way of the first punch, grabbed Cyborg's arm and hurled him off of the Tower into the bay.

He turned his attention to Raven, who was still busy healing Starfire. He ran towards her but was struck in the back of the head by a massive green fist. Carson stumbled forward and turned around to see Beast Boy in the form of a gorilla. Beast Boy roared and punched at Carson. He knocked the blow aside and punched back, hitting Beast Boy in the chin. Carson thrust the pole forward and hit him in the stomach, knocking him backwards a few steps. Carson, gaining the upped hand, charged at Beast Boy again, hitting him first in the neck and then in the hip with the pole. He continued his flurry of swings, keeping Beast Boy on the defensive, backing him farther back until the came to the edge of the ceiling.

Carson's hand shot forward and grabbed Beast Boy's neck. The shapeshifter returned to his normal form and struggled as Carson held him over the ten story drop to the rocks below. He got a strange feeling and turned around slowly to be face to face with a rock carved psychically into a spike, surrounded by a black aura. "Hurt him and you die," he heard a voice thick with rage say.

A small smile lit up Carson's face. "Ah. I see..." he said smugly.

"I mean it! Put him down!" Raven snarled.

The smile grew and Carson turned back to the struggling Beast Boy. "As you wish..." he said, menace dripping from every word. He released his grip on Beast Boy and let him fall, absorbing the disbelieving scream that followed. Carson quickly ducked under the spike and rolled to avoid the shots of dark energy, each one keeping him on edge. Raven flew straight at Carson and fired another blast. Carson dodged, then once again went on the offensive, swinging his staff in a flurry of blows at Raven. Raven could only dodge or stop the blows with a quick screen of energy. But as it wore on the swings came quicker with less time in between, Carson seeming to gain energy and was quickly gaining the upper hand, backing Raven to the edge as he had done with Beast Boy.

When they got to the edge Raven encased herself in a shell and let Carson pound away with the staff. She knew the barrier wouldn't hold forever. Sooner or later it would falter, and it seemed like it would be sooner as Carson hailed down blows onto the barrier. Finally it shattered and Carson swung his staff down without missing a beat, hitting Raven in the cheek. Raven fell down and stared up at Carson in terror as he once again pulled his trademark weapon from it's holster. She tried to gather her power for another blast, but couldn't, most of her power having been used up during the earlier fight.

Carson cocked the hammer and lowered the gun down to point blank range at Raven's forehead. "Quoth the Raven," he said mockingly, "Nevermore."

He pulled the trigger.

* * *

RR76: Cliff. Hanger. I swear this fight scene sounded better when I first thought of it. Tell me whatcha think. 


	10. Anticlimactic

RR76: I have to type very fast spread out over the next couple of days. So yeah.

**Review Responses:**

**Queenie: Hahaha, calm yerself lassie. No I did not just call you a dog. 'Sides, Lassie got shot. Or was that Old Yeller... anyway, yeah. Like I always say to my grandpa "Porque yo tegusta el presedente estupido?" Did I say that right?**

**ShadeyMike: No promises, but I'll see what I can do.**

**fourthelement: Calm, calm. Inhale... inhale... stop. Hold your breath... your turning blue, that's normal... okay, let it out. Good luck with the zit talkabouter.**

**im in a mood to kill people (nice name!): Shiny. Yum... Stay alive now, y'hear?**

**The Wild Ambition: I hate Terra because she is a filthy traitot. And don't get me on the Carson thing. He's had a tough life, and as far as I know, he hasn't broken his friend's hearts (vice-versa- did I say that out loud?).**

**Don't own, don't sue, don't flame.**

**NOTE: Some of this dialouge comes from the episode "Not Fade Away," on Angel. Ye be warned...**

_"Quoth the Raven, nevermore..."_

_He pulled the trigger._

Click. Nothing happened.

Curious, Carson opened the chamber to his revolver and found he was out of ammo. Duh. He hadn't reloaded after the run-in with the White Scarves.

"Heh. Silly me..." he laughed. He raised the pole again, only to be hit in the side by something very fast and also very green. Carson fell backwards and finally settled on the ground ten feet away from Raven.

Raven looked up in shock to see a green ram- Beast Boy. He resumed his normal form and helped Raven to her feet. "Thanks," she said, relieved.

"Don't thank me yet," said Beast Boy. "We still have a job to do."

Carson got back to his feet to find his pole had been knocked away from him. "I thought I killed you!" he yelled at Beast Boy.

"Dude? I can FLY remember?" shouted Beast Boy.

Carson blushed. in embarrasment. "Oh yeah, forgot about that little detail..." he muttered. He assumed a fighting stance.

"And in terms of a plan...?" Raven whispered.

"We fight."

"Bit more specific?"

"Um... didn't really think past that."

Raven rolled her eyes. "If we die, I am so gonna kill you... you know what I mean."

Beast Boy chuckled nervously. "Heh... right."

"ARE WE GOING TO FIGHT, OR ARE YOU TWO JUST GONNA FLIRT ALL DAY?" roared Carson.

"Okay, NOW I'm going to kill you!" Raven growled and flew at him, Beast Boy not far behind in the form of a gorilla. Carson leaped over Raven and went straight for Beast Boy, who he percieved as a bigger threat due to the less substantial beating he recieved. Bad move. Raven hit him in the back with a blast and Beast Boy knocked him aside with one of his massive fists. Carson stumbled backwards and saw his makeshift staff, encased in black energy, fly at him, swinging itself. He ducked under the first swing but missed the second one, which connected with his jaw. He recovered just in time to see Beast Boy come at him as a tiger, claws outstreatched menacingly.

The two circled each other for a moment, Carson seemingly unaware that the staff was positioning itself behind his neck, at the base of his spine. The staff flew forward just as Beast Boy jumed at him. Carson dodged, grabbed the staff knocked away Beast Boy and threw the staff at Raven, hitting her in the head. She went down, unconcious.

Beast Boy shouted her name and tried to get to her but Carson was quicker, kicking the green shapeshifter in the chest (for those of you unaware, BB's in his normal form). Beast Boy took a few steps back to recover his equilibrium then rushed at the assassin again, swinging wildly. Carson dodged each one with ease, then elbowed Beast Boy in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He pulled his right arm back and punched Beast Boy in the cheek. Carson laughed quietly. "Easier than Robin was, if I recall," he said malevolently.

"You won't win," spat Beast Boy. "I hope you know, we're undefeated against Slade's goons."

Carson cocked his head to one side. "And yet there is Terra," he said softly.

Beast Boy seemed to come to life and swung again at Carson. He grabbed the arm and hurled him a good five feet, slamming him against another one of the volleyball poles. Beast Boy got to his feet. "What... how do you know Terra?" he asked.

Carson grinned. "I suppose the two of you are aquaintences?"

"Shut up and answer the question!" yelled the lithe teen. He turned into a lion and leapt at him, aiming to rip out his jugular, not caring that Carson wouldn't be able to answer the question. Carson stepped out of the way and Beast Boy landed on all fours- duh.

"You mean- you don't know about her?" He started laughing. "Oh, that's rich. Wonderful..."

"Shut UP!" roared Beast Boy, morphing into a bear and swinging at him. Carson knocked away the bear without even looking and continued to laugh. Beast Boy landed next to Raven, who was beginning to wake from her unconciousness (word?).

Carson stopped laughing and looked at the Titans. "Of course, in the end, she doesn't matter. Nothing does. All shall be dust, in the end."

"No," said Raven, rising to her feet. "We'll stop Slade. We always have."

Carson's eyes narrowed. "I wasn't talking about Slade."

A beam of dark energy flew at Carson, but he jumped out of the way, landing on the edge of the roof. He stood confidently, not wobbling. "Nor was I refering to you Raven. Yes, I did pick up something from you from your mental invasion of my privacy. But not even you know what's coming. You aren't ready to face it, none of you are. Not Slade, not the Titans, not the HIVE, no one."

He raised his arms out to indicate his surroundings. "And all this," he said. "All of it will come tumbling down, in a torrent of tears, and pain, and bloodshed. So pick your side, kiddies. I think I already know mine."

Carson gave a mock salute. "Till then..." he said, and stepped off the roof. From below came the unmistakable sound of helicopter roters, and sure enough, a helicopter painted jet black rose from the rocks below, Carson standing in the doorway staring at Beast Boy and Raven with a look of smug satisfaction. The look turned to horror suddenly, and two blasts suddenly rocked the side of the chopper, fired from the roof of the tower. All eyes turned back to the doorway.

It was Starfire. She had fought the pain long enough to stand up and hurl two starbolts at Carson's escape vehicle. Just as suddenly, three energy disks lodged themselves in the armored side and went off in a magnificent explosion as the helicopter disappeared under a blanket of orange and red light.

Robin stood in the door to the roof, still covered in cuts and bruises. "Sorry I'm late," he said sheepishly.

Raven and Beast Boy walked over to them. "Don't let it happen again," Beast Boy admonished.

Starfire turned around to face him, still clutching her side. "Robin..." she said, searching for words but Robin just shook his head.

"You're hurt, all of you. And... where's Cyborg?" he asked, scratching his head nervously.

Raven just sighed and stepped inside. "You missed one hell of a fight," she muttered under her breath.

RR76: THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER. THERE IS ONE MORE LEFT. Review kindly, lest I send the chewing koala after you.

CK: Chew chew chew chew chew chew.


	11. Epilouge: Here endeth the lesson

RR76: Yeay. I end this now. But despair not, yon people! For there be more where this doth cometh from...eth.

**Responses:**

**The Wild Ambition: Yeah, but Carson has to eat somehow.**

**im in a kill people mood: Calm thyself, there is another chapter soon. And the Chewing Koala belongs to Queen of Azerath.**

**Queenie: First non emaily review in a while. Your credit is givin above. Yeay.**

**Fourthelement: Heh, randomness. Yeay. Angel's cool. Actually, the charecter Angel is the inspiration for Carson's personality. Ask Ember what he's like when he loses his soul.**

**The Wild Ambition: Now THAT ranks high on the scales of evility. **

**SaintH: No, the White Scarves served no real purpose. Just to demonstrate how powerful Carson is. And there are a couple people who can beat him, as I shalt be showing later in another story. Juuuuuuuuust wait. Thanks for all the reviews.**

**Thank you to everyone who read. 'Specially fourthelement. She was the first. Now read onwards, yon bakersfield!**

**Don't own, don't sue, don't flame**

* * *

"There," said Cyborg, dropping the bullet into a small pan. "I managed to remove the bullet. You got lucky Star; any more damage and..." he let it hang. "You should sit out for a couple days, let it heal on it's own. Maybe you could ask Raven if she could help cover the scar or something." 

Starfire touched the bandage and winced as pain shot through her side. "I agree; I doubt I could be much help in this state."

The Titans stood in the infirmiry, patching up their wounds. None of them got off easy; Raven, Beast Boy and Robin had all been thrashed quite thoroughly and Cyborg had been thrown from the roof of Titans' Tower. Carson had come the closest to annihalating the Teen Titans than anybody else, and they'd won on a fluke.

Robin looked at the rest of the team. "Hey guys... mind giving us a moment?" he asked sheepishly. A grin spread across their collective faces as the others went through the door.

Robin turned back to the alien girl, smiling warmly. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Starfire sat up, her legs dangling off the edge of the examining table. "It is most... painful," she said.

Robin sat next to her. "Hey, look on the bright side. At least you still have... what's left of your health."

"That is something I would expect Beast Boy to say," said Starfire, looking at Robin. The Boy Wonder chuckled and looked down. A look of concern crossed Starfire's face. "What is wrong?" she asked.

"It's just..." Robin sighed. "I got careless Star. I should never have trusted Carson right away like that. I don't know, I guess after seeing what he did to that thug in the warehouse... the kind of power he wielded..."

Starfire put a hand on her friend's shouldar. "You made a mistake Robin. You are not perfect, however hard you may strive to be."

"Don't rub it in," he said playfully.

Starfire looked confused. "Rub... what? Those odd markings in the cereal boxes that Beast Boy is so fond of?" (A/N: If they're being too hard on BB, let me know)

Robin hid a smile. "It's an expression Star." He tried to get serious again, to wipe the smile off his face. He couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. Robin got off the table and helped Starfire to her feet, and without saying another word, he walked her back to her room.

* * *

Raven stared out at the table in the living room, where Beast Boy sat eating a box of tofu forlornly. She wasn't good at this... but it had to be done. She glided over behind him without making a sound. He didn't notice. For a moment she toyed with the idea of scaring him with some manner of loud noise as he had done so many times before. But she dismissed it as childish, and this was something serious. 

"Hey," the shapeshifter said, startling Raven.

"How did you know I was--"

"My ears aren't this big for nothing. C'mon, sit down." He pulled out a chair and Raven sat down. She searched her mind for the right words.

"Listen, Beast Boy... um... I never did thank you. For saving my life up there. And, I wanted to, um... do that. So... thank you."

A sad smile crossed the face of the normally cheerful teen. "It's that hard to say thank you?" he asked.

"Would you just accept the damn thank you so I can go?" asked Raven exasperated. Beast Boy paused, seemingly hurt. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like--"

"You're welcome."

"Huh?" she asked.

"I said you're welcome."

"Oh." Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Until Beast Boy broke the silence. "I couldn't just let that happen to a friend."

Raven felt a slight warmth in her cheeks and pulled up her hood to hide it. Beast Boy looked up at her and held out the tasteless brick of soy. "Tofu?"

* * *

"And so, apprentice, what have we learned?" 

Slade and his apprentice stood in a freight elevator in a massive underground facility. The only light came from a single lightbulb on the ceiling, which swayed slightly back and forth as the elevator spead down the shaft.

"He was... untrustworthy," Terra responded.

"Exactly. Carson made no attempt to gain the trust of his hosts. Thus, no surprise to them when he came out and tried to kill them-- another mistake, I might add. So many better ways to kill them than the one he went with."

The elevator came into the light and Slade stepped to the exposed end of the cabin. "And in the end, Carson was unneccesary. And like all unneccesary things, he had to be gotten rid of. As will the Teen Titans. Not by him, and certainly not by this grand machine." Terra stepped next to her master and gasped. The chamber was impressive, sure, but that wasn't what caught her attention.

Six huge mechanical worms in pairs of three sat curled around the circular chamber, each painted a dull green color. In the center of the chamber was a computor.

"This, apprentice," said Slade, "will be the means by which you will gain the Titans' trust. It isn't ready yet, of course. All in due time."

The elevator reached the end of the shaft. "And so, Terra," he said. "Here endeth the lesson." A mechanical beeping reacher the ears of the two. "Come Terra. It seems we have some... unfinished business."

* * *

Master and apprentice stood at the end of the tunnel, awaiting the arrival of their aquaintence. And he didn not disappoint. 

"You're punctual, Carson, I'll give you that," said Slade.

"Whatever," the teenage assassin said dismissively. "You'd better be grateful Slade, I went to hell and back to get these codes."

"Is that right?" said Slade in a bored tone. His manner seemed to confuse Carson greatly. "The disk, if you please."

Carson reached into his pocket and produced a disk. "Here you are. Take 'em. Now if you wouldn't mind, I'll be taking my leave of you." He tossed the disk to the crime lord.

Beneathe the mask, Slade smirked. He took the disk between his fore and middle fingers and broke it in two. A look of bewilderment crossed Carson's face. "That wasn't very smart, now was it? You just broke the key to your victor--" he stopped as he put two and two together. His look of bewilderment turned to a mixture of fear and rage. "You set me up," he whispered.

A rock encasement surrounded Carson, trapping him completely. He struggled and cursed at Slade trying to get free, when he saw Slade raising a pistol to the assassin's face.

"You're fired," he said.

BANG!

* * *

RR76: Thanks again for reviewing. Look for the sequel in coming weeks. Review please. 


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